Moon and Antares close approach tonight

[iceman]

On the East Coast, the Moon and Antares are very close tonight, with a near miss just before dawn.

There may even be an occultation in some parts of the country.

Jupiter is about 10 deg away.

Would make a nice sight, get out there and take a look!

[Dennis]

Thanks Mike - we've got clear skies here in Brisbane, so I'll be out having a look at this event.

Cheers

Dennis

[mill]

:( Only clouds and rain here.
But we need the rain so no worries.

[RB]

Thanks for the heads-up Mike !!!!!

:2thumbs:

[Dennis]

Here is a section of a screen copy from Starry Night Pro 6, drawn for around 4:00am on 5th May (early Saturday morning).

Cheers

Dennis

[seeker372011]

did any one observe this? I couldn't see Antares at all the moon was too bright..but this was naked eye, and I wasnt wearing my glasses so it means nothing

[RB]

I did !
It was a lovely sight although I couldn't believe how dim Antares looked because of the moon's brightness.
Observed at 4am.

I didn't get to image it though, I wanted to try a HDR image set but didn't end up trying it.

[Dennis]

Hello,

We had a reasonably good night here in Brisbane. The few early clouds soon dispersed and we saw the Moon gradually get closer and closer to Antares. With the naked eye, I found that hiding the Moon behind the gutter on the roof made Antares really stand out, as the lunar glare was masked by the roof obstruction.

I hadn’t intended to take any photos, but when I looked through the Mewlon 180 with a WO 20mm, Antares appeared like a flame red point of light, just sitting off the edge of the Lunar limb approx 10 arc mins above Plato.

I rushed upstairs and grabbed the Pentax *ist DS and attached it to the ‘scope and focused through the eyepiece. I zoomed in on the image using the camera LCD panel and noticed the image was degraded due to the vibrations induced by the mirror flipping up. I had to set the ISO speed to 800ASA and the shutter speed to 1/350 sec before the image sharpened sufficiently – you really do need a mirror lock up on DSLR’s, as the token 2.5 second shutter delay was insufficient time to allow the mirror vibrations to stop.

Anyhow, here is the result – not pretty by any standards and most certainly not as pleasing and inspiring as viewing the live event.

Cheers

Dennis

[h0ughy]

well done Dennis!

[RB]

Excellent Dennis !

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Great image Dennis, all the more so for being taken somewhat without notice as such.
:thumbsup:

I was out initially around 11pm looking at Antares and the Moon naked eye style for a short period, noting Antares relative position and brightness for later comparison. I went out again around 1am but this time I set up my 20x80 bino's, having decided to leave the 12" dob indoors for the evening. It was an evening for great viewing I must admit, but a heck of an angle for the old neck looking up at such an elevation through bino's.

After 20-30 minutes of soaking up the view I went inside again for a while, but having worked until 11pm my head was still far from being ready to sleep (that came eventually around 5am). I was playing around with Starry Night - making the Moon creep back and forth across the sky, etc, until eventually I took the bino's outside again around 3am.

The Moon had crept so much closer to Anatares by now, which through the bino's was very crisp, and very clearly a bright red point of blazing fusion, and a fine counterpoint to the blazing whiteness of the Moon. Even as a naked eye object Antares appearance was definitely that of a bright red star, but definitely overwhelmed by the more massive looking Moon so close.
:stargaze:
I noted that no matter how objectively I tried looking at the distance between the Moon and Antares by naked eye they appeared to be around 4/5 of a lunar diameter apart, yet I knew this to be untrue. Through the bino's they were definitely more than a lunar diameter apart at this time, yet swapping views back and forth I could not make my brian reconcile the distance clearly by naked eye. :rolleyes:

Over the next hour and a half maybe I kept returning to check Antares and the Moon, filling the gaps in between by observing Omega Centauri, 47 Tuc, the 4 corners of Crux, the Jewel Box and anything else that was east/south of me and visible through all that moonlight!:eek:

Finally I packed it in and came inside to go to bed - well content at what I had observed, but definitely looking forward to seeing Jupiter much nearer the Moon tonight than it was last night!
;)

[Dennis]

Hi Steve

Very nice report mate – gee you were a busy bee last night/this morning!

For most of the late evening, there seemed to be at least 2000 acres of space between the Moon and Antares. After the pair crossed the meridian, I went inside for some refreshment. After a bit of a cat nap, I came outside again to find the pair very close together, as seen with the naked eye.

The image I posted above has Antares some 10 arc mins away from the Lunar limb, which is approx 1/3 apparent angular diameter of the Moon. It was taken around 5:36am according to the Pentax software.

There is some cloud about as I write, so I’m uncertain if I’ll manage to get out tonight. Good luck with your sesion.

Cheers

Dennis

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Thanks Dennis, I'll see what the sky looks like when I escape from work here in an hour or so - hopefully it will be be clear for both of us, I look forward to seeing any images you may capture tonight.

Cheers!

[Ric]

Nice image Dennis, very nicely captured.

Cheers

[Dennis]

Hey Steve

I set up the gear and then went inside for a cat nap around 10:30pm. I woke up the next morning, Sunday, at 6:25am! Missed the whole night!

Cheers

Dennis

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Dennis I did something very similar - great pair of observers we are! :doh:

I got home from work around 11pm again, and after a very short delay to look upwards towards Jupiter & co I headed inside, only to be greeted by my girlfriend and my 2 very loyal and excited dogs. We all enjoyed a quick snack (milk and ginger nut biscuits all around actually!) before things settled down a bit. I ended up laying on my bed, looking upwards through the very top sliver of the window at the Moon and Jupiter while deciding whether to take the big dob outside or to just use the binos again.

:zzz:
The lack of sleep for several previous nights caught up with me such that the decision was never made and I awoke to full strong sunlight on my face around 10am or so! No Jupiter, no Moon, no Eta Aquarids but plenty of much needed sleep.

[Dennis]

Hey Steve

It takes a great man to have the courage to choose a night of restful sleep over the pursuit of exploring the Universe! Lesser men would no doubt have felt somewhat guilt ridden and got out of bed for the task at hand, with senses befuddled by lack of sleep and mind dulled by too little melatonin.

The wiser ones enjoyed a good night’s kip!

Cheers

Dennis

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I would be a fool to disagree with you Dennis......

Cheers!